I’ve been having a hard time finding a paint color to match the leather that I’m going to be using in the plane. So today, with a leather sample and a headliner sample in hand, I ran up to Sherwin Williams automotive and flipped thru one of their interior paint chip books. Nothing was an exact match, but I think I found something that is close enough that it will all look good together.
With the paint, reducer, hardener, and flattening agent purchased, I masked off my finished overhead console and shot the paint on the cabin top. It flowed on very nicely, even with my el’cheapo harbor freight HVLP gun.
To give it a little more finished look, I then used a trick Geoff Combs from Aerosport told me. After I had a few good coats of color down, and I was happy with the way it looked, I turned the air pressure on the gun WAY down, and then “splattered” another coat of paint on in a even coat. This leaves you with a very nice texture to the paint. It will also help hide any imperfections in the surface… not that there are any! It turned out great!
Now the only issue is whether or not I’m happy with how the color matches the leather I’ll be using for my upholstery. I’m not sure. I’m extremely happy with the way the finish turned out, and it looks great. I’m just not certain about the color. I’m going to need to sleep on it for a few days…
Looks like you have completed beautiful work!